Visualizing Sound: Martin Klimas' Sonic Sculptures Series

German photographer Martin Klimas is known for his work surrounding high speed photography to capture moments otherwise invisible to the human eye. His project, Sonic Sculptures, enables the viewer to visualize the impact of sound as streams of colorful paint are thrown upward by sound waves from a speaker.

After splashing paint on stretched canvas suspended over a speaker, Klimas turns the music up to full volume. As the vibrations from the speaker to throw the paint upwards, the resulting intricate patterns are captured in his high-speed photographs. While each individual photograph is quite interesting, the project becomes truly fascinating when the photographs are compared and the differences in pattern between songs are revealed.

"Ornithology" Charlie Parker

"Around the World" Daft Punk

"Slave to the Rhythm" Grace Jones

"Sex Machine" James Brown

"House Burning Down" Jimi Hendrix

"Twenty Three" John Cage

"Carmina Burana" Carl Orff

"Ascension" John Coltrane

"Toccata und Fuge d-Moll" JS Bach

from "Sirius" Karlheinz Stockhausen

"Transistor" Kraftwerk

"Angel" Massive Attack

"Bitches Brew" Miles Davis

"Pharaoh's Dance" Miles Davis

"Free Jazz, A Collective Improvisation, Side A" Ornette Coleman

"Ludus Tonalis" Paul Hindemith

"Music with Changing Parts" Philip Glass

"On the Run" Pink Floyd

"Time" Pink Floyd

"Sign O' the Times" Prince

"Ride of the Valkyries" Richard Wagner

"Drumming" Steve Reich

"A Rainbow in Curved Air" Terry Riley

"Run Run Run" The Velvet Underground and Nico

For those curious about Klimas' process, here are a few behind-the-scenes shots of his setup: